Social Booklet - Managers/White Collar Workers

Question 1

Why were they needed during Bismarck’s Germany?

Answer 1

As Germany’s economy developed, there was a greater need for admin jobs, teachers, scientific research and lawyers

Question 2

In Prussia, how much did the civil service grow by from 1850-1907?

Answer 2

40,000 in 1850 to 250,000 in 1907

Question 3

The number of teachers grew by what % between 1891-1913?

Answer 3

43%

Question 4

The number of doctors grew by how many times from 1876-1913?

Answer 4

2x

Question 5

The number of white collar workers grew increased by what % during 1882-1907?

Answer 5

They grew from 4.7% to 10%

Question 6

What was formed by white collar workers in 1901?

Answer 6

• A number of white-collar political groups formed the Co-ordinating Committee which argued for state-insurance for white-collar works (one different from what was offered to workers) and in 1911, they were successful
• This lead to an increasing divide between the workers and the middle classes

Question 7

Example of a white collar worker political group?

Answer 7

The German Middle Class Association, for example was racist, antisemitic and nationalist and aimed to unite the lower middle classes, industrialists and aristocracy behind the Kaiser and against the SPD

Question 8

What hit the white collar workers hard during the 1920s in the Weimar period?

Answer 8

The hyperinflation from 1921-22, and the Great Depression at the end of the 1920s hit the white-collar workers particularly hard and this lead to a growing sense of unease about the ability of the Weimar governments to help them

Question 9

Why was it hard for white collar workers to find jobs after the war?

Answer 9

Increasing number of working women

Question 10

What happened to the number of white collar workers between 1907-25?

Answer 10

They doubled

Question 11

By what % did blue collar workers increase by?

Answer 11

20%

Question 12

White vs blue collar workers

Answer 12

White collar workers did not receive the same level of state support (benefits) as blue-collar workers and 90,000 of them had no unemployment support at all

Question 13

In Berlin, 1933, what % of university graduates were unemployed?

Answer 13

60% - this led to antagonism against the Weimar government, and heads turned to the Nazis

Question 14

What policy of the Nazis was appealing to the white collar workers?

Answer 14

Reduction of female employment

Question 15

What % of the Nazi party were made up of younger white collar workers from 1929-32?

Answer 15

20%

Question 16

Example of rights given to white collar workers by the Nazis

Answer 16

White collar workers were sacked with 6 weeks’ notice, and blue-collar workers only had to be given 1 weeks’ notice

Question 17

How much (%) did the white collar worker population grow by from 1933-39?

Answer 17

25%, they made up 1 in 4 of every worker in the country (an increase from 1 in 3 in 1895)

Question 18

Why did the white collar workers increase during the 1950s?

Answer 18

The rapid industrial growth from the 1950s drove a massive expansion of white-collar workers as the economy shifted in the 1960s and 1970s to service industries and more technologically advanced products

Question 19

In 1890, what % of the German workforce were white collar workers?

Answer 19

10%

Question 20

In 1940, what % of the German workforce were white collar workers?

Answer 20

20%

Question 21

In 1980, what % of the German workforce were white collar workers?

Answer 21

35%

Question 22

What years did real wages double?

Answer 22

From 1950-54, real wages doubled, fuelling consumerism and leading to an increasing demand for skilled labour

Question 23

What year was a law passed which enabled easier purchasing of a house, etc.?

Answer 23

In 1956, a law was passed making it easier for people to buy a house and tax allowances made it easier to buy a car, so advancement was visible across West Germany

Question 24

Equalisation of Burdens Law

Answer 24

The Equalisation of Burdens law (1952) helped those who had suffered during the war and over 20 years transferred DM90,000 million from those who had suffered the least

Question 25

What % of car owners were wage earners in 1950? What did this increase to in 1960?

Answer 25

Wage earners made up 9% of car owners in 1950, but 50% by 1960

Question 26

By what % did living standards increase by rom 1953-60?

Answer 26

Living standards improved by 58% from 1953-60 (compared to only 25% in Britain) measured by access to modern housing, consumer goods and greater leisure time

Question 27

By 1989, how much of the population was employed in the service industry?

Answer 27

66%